It’s a start: La. agency takes on Big Oil over wetlands

Much of the work that I do as an environmental attorney based in my hometown of New Orleans is animated by one thing: Big Oil has run roughshod over the Gulf Coast, and especially the state of Louisiana, for more than a century. Whether it’s oil companies dumping radioactive pipe on unsuspecting clean-up workers and pouring radium-laced water into unlined pits, or leaving behind a massive sinkhole in the heart of the bayou, or unsafe practices that create an environmental catastrophe like BP’s Deepwater Horizon fiasco, the energy giants have left an unsightly mark on a region of great natural beauty.

Arguably, over the long haul, nothing has been more destructive than the assault on Louisiana’s thousands of square miles of marshy coastal wetlands. These Southern swamplands are also are natural protection against hurricane tides and floods, and for the last 100 years oil and gas production has played a huge role in making our wetlands disappear — from construction of too many canals to reckless polluting. And our government, typically in the pocket of Big Oil, has not fought back.

Louisiana officials filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against dozens of energy companies, hoping that the courts will force them to pay for decades of damage to fragile coastal wetlands that help buffer the effects of hurricanes on the region.

“This protective buffer took 6,000 years to form,” the state board that oversees flood-protection efforts for much of the New Orleans area argued in court filings, adding that “it has been brought to the brink of destruction over the course of a single human lifetime.”

The suit, which was denounced by Louisiana’s governor, Bobby Jindal, was filed in civil district court in New Orleans by the board of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East. The board argues that the energy companies, including BP and Exxon Mobil, should be held responsible for fixing damage done by cutting thousands of miles of oil and gas access and pipeline canals through the wetlands. It alleges that the network functioned “as a mercilessly efficient, continuously expanding system of ecological destruction,” killing vegetation, eroding soil and allowing salt water into freshwater areas.

“What remains of these coastal lands is so seriously diseased that if nothing is done, it will slip into the Gulf of Mexico by the end of this century, if not sooner,” the filing stated.

This is fantastic news, and it prompts a couple of additional reactions. One, as others have pointed out, Big Oil had help from the folks who were supposed to be holding them accountable. Those would be federal agencies like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These bodies issue the oil companies the permits to drill and cut channels through these sensitive wetlands — but only on the condition they be restored to their original state when the drilling was completed. That didn’t happen was yet another massive failing of the regulatory culture here in the Gulf — and so this lawsuit should also be a signal to the feds to get their house in order.

Second, I just want to call attention to the shrill and petulant reaction of Gov. Jindal to news of the lawsuit. In the middle of hurricane season, when dread rises over the possible of another Katrina or worse with out protective layer of wetlands nearly gone, our Republican governor would rather try to score political points by bashing “the trial lawyers.” Seriously? The bottom line is this: the governor had a choice to choose here between protecting Louisiana’s environment or standing up for Big Oil. Now there’s no mistaking which side Bobby Jindal is on.

One Response to It’s a start: La. agency takes on Big Oil over wetlands

Everybody needs to know that BIG OIL/GAS has for decades been sending RADIOACTIVE GAS into peoples homes for decades and they know it. And the Radioactivity in the black Marvelous Shale is 300 to 1200 times more radioactive and they know it. But yet they still sell it to the public as the perfect fuel for a low carbon foot print, Except for the hazards that the people breathing it will pay with ill health in the future, will your recent new born even see graduation or die of cancer or other dizzies before you even really get to know them. Radon LUNG CANCER is the second leading cause only because there are so many Electric Stoves, And what about the exhaust from the new gas breathing busses that your children are standing next to while waiting to get on, Also don’t forget that after RADON doe’s it’s alpha damage in the lung it depletes to lead. Somewhere I heard there is problems with LEAD in CHLIDREN, even in low levels it can change their IQ. by several points. The expectable level for LEAD is ZERO, ask the LEAD people…. THANX jc

The information contained on this web site is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. The content of this web site may not reflect the most current legal developments and is not guaranteed to be correct, complete or up to date. This web site is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship between you and the group of independent law firms, or any individual lawyer or law firm, and you should not act or rely upon any information without seeking the advice of an attorney.

Please be aware that if you communicate with any law firm through this web site in connection with a matter on which we do not represent you, your communication may not be treated as privileged or confidential. If you communicate with us via email in connection with a matter on which we do represent you, please note that email is not secure and can be intercepted by third parties; therefore, you should avoid sending confidential or sensitive information unless adequately encrypted.

Unless otherwise specified, the attorneys listed on this web site are not certified by any state board of legal specialization.